Three Blind Mice
by SmilesLasting
Summary: Of all the millions of people in Japan—no, of all the billions in the world, the person Sakura trusted to never, ever hurt her could only be Uchiha Sasuke. But faith isn't enough to stop you from getting killed. "The day you point your gun at me, Sasuke-kun, is the day I'll kill you with my own hands." AU.


[A/N] I had this story up for a little while, but decided to rework the plot, because it _really_ needed reworking. So here it is, again, in its second (and hopefully much improved) form. This fic has some supernatural stuff, but it's mostly a mystery story. You also might end up hating every single character. But hey, if you're willing to give it a try, please do.

—x—

**Three Blind Mice**

1} a gun and green tea

—x—

Haruno Sakura briskly walked home, shivering in her red coat. One hand gripped the cellphone inside her velvet pocket, and in her other, she held her keys between her fingers as a makeshift weapon. Home was a short walk from the university campus, but at night, the distance taunted her.

The paranoia was getting to her, and having watched the news this morning only made it worse. The reports lately focused on the recent, mysterious kidnappings that have been occurring around the country, but most of the kidnappings were concentrated here in the Konoha area. To make it worse, mostly young women had been targeted; it was more than enough to unnerve her.

Sakura herself was a timid individual. Up until last year, she had preferred to hide her large forehead behind untrendy long bangs and mainly keep to herself, still suffering from the social anxiety that had haunted her since being bullied in middle school. It had taken three months, full of quiet and distant admiration, until she actually had a conversation with the boy she liked, and it had only occurred because he'd talked to her first.

A hand suddenly grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Sakura opened her mouth to scream but there was a familiar voice in her ear, saying, "It's okay, it's okay, it's only me, Sakura."

"S-Sasuke-kun!" She blinked her green eyes, recognizing his pale, handsome face and inky, inky dark eyes. They matched the night sky behind him; dark, but with a shimmer that made her heart tingle.

He wore an apologetic expression. "Did I scare you?" he asked, gently pressing a hand into her shoulder.

"A little," she answered honestly. "I thought you might have been one of those kidnappers that keep appearing on the news. But I'm glad I was wrong."

He kissed her a hello, softly and sweetly, before they set off for home. Sakura clung to her boyfriend's arm, while he held groceries in the other. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Uchiha Sasuke was a man of few words, but that was exactly what Sakura loved so much about him; he did not press her for answers, ever, and neither was he pushy about anything. If he said something, he meant it. He was patient and intelligent, and while his way of expressing his thoughts differed from the average person, Sakura also knew that he was kind.

"It's snowing," she remarked quietly, and reached up with one hand to catch a few of the falling flakes.

"Mm," he hummed in agreement, and she could see the ghost of a smirk on his lips.

As long as she had him, Sakura thought as she looked at his small smile, she would be okay. Of all the millions of people in Japan—no, of all the billions in the world, the person she trusted to never, ever hurt her could only be Uchiha Sasuke.

She slid one hand down and slipped her fingers between his, and squeezed. He squeezed back.

Reveling in the warmth of his hand, Sakura watched the snow gently falling, and found it exquisitely beautiful.

—x—

On paper, Uzumaki Naruto had two guardians named Jiraiya and Tsunade.

In reality, he was passed around from family to family every couple of years.

He could probably be best described as an orphan. He didn't _know_ why he jumped from place to place, but he had his suspicions: mainly, the fact that he tended to be violent when angry. And he always, always got angry.

Once, he had even torn his foster family's living room into pieces when he got into a heated argument with them. He didn't remember anything of the incident, only that the rage had consumed him and left his mind blank; when he came to, the splintered legs of a broken kitchen chair were in his hands. To this day, he only vaguely remembered that his foster parent had remarked that Naruto's father must have been a failure, judging by the genes Naruto had inherited, and next thing Naruto knew, he was being called a "Monster!", standing in the midst of a broken house… and the next day he moved to a different house.

Now he lived with a couple named Asuma and Kurenai. Naruto didn't hate them, but the way they gazed into each other's eyes made him feel oddly third-wheeled, though he knew they didn't mean any harm by it.

He had once asked why they hadn't married. Asuma had said it was because he didn't care much about official labels, and Kurenai had added that she just didn't care much about what their relationship was, as long as they had each other. Naruto wanted to call it cheesy, but their gazes were so serious that he couldn't make fun of their words. They had meant every one.

Kurenai was pregnant. Sometimes she invited Naruto to press one of his hands against her belly, and once, he'd felt the kick of the baby and was oddly astounded by it. Then Kurenai had smiled and told him she hoped he could be a great big brother to the baby—and he'd felt stung.

Surely, they'd kick him out and push him onto some other family soon enough, he thought.

Naruto sat in his room, his legs pressed into the side of his bed. He felt restless, antsy. He'd finished his homework in the library, but had swept through it so quickly that he'd finally decided to come home. But he felt so trapped here.

His phone went off, the tone indicating that he'd received a text message. He grabbed the phone from its spot on the pillow; the screen read: _Naruto-kun, have you done your homework?_

_Hinata, are you busy right now? _he replied, instead of answering her question.

A minute passed by. Then: _No. I'm all done for today._

_Your parents home?_

Five minutes this time. _No. Do you want to come over?_

—x—

He didn't understand why Hinata liked him so much.

Their relationship was pretty clear: he wasn't interested in her. Emotionally, anyway. He didn't want any relationship, any label, anything to mark them as 'together' in any way. He didn't know how to love somebody, and he surely couldn't ever love Hyuuga Hinata, the perfect girl who had given him everything.

She'd lied to him just once. "Is this your first time?" he'd asked, when he'd slid a single finger inside and seen her wince, and she'd shaken her head. But when it was over, after she'd smothered her small cries and he'd pulled off the used condom, he'd seen the blood. He had almost apologized, then. But he didn't. Instead, he'd pulled on his clothes and left her there, expecting her to shun him from then on.

But she still let him in whenever he asked. And if her parents were home, she would let him lead her to a love hotel down in the city. That had only happened once, and he could still recall easily how permanent the deep tinge of red in her cheeks had looked when she'd meekly followed him in. Love hotels were expensive, he had found, but luckily, Hinata was a Hyuuga, and her parents were almost never home.

Like today.

He kissed the girl's lips to smother her soft cry. Her fingers reached up to play with the short, blond wisps of hair on the back of his neck, and his sweat made her hold slide with his movement. His own fingers pressed into the sheets by her shoulders, giving him something to use as an axis as he thrust into the heat between her legs.

She was so warm. And he couldn't stop.

—x—

Sakura was shaken out of her sleep by the sound of the doorbell insistently ringing.

"Sasuke-kun... the door..." she murmured, but the man lying beside her looked just as sleepy as her.

He lifted a finger and pointed it towards the front door, then shook his head slightly. Sakura sighed. "Fine," she muttered, as she pulled the sheets off of her and grabbed a bathrobe. She shut it and tied the belt around her waist as she walked out of the bedroom, across the living room and to the door.

She bent to check the peephole. The face that greeted her was eerily familiar, with dark hair and even darker eyes, although she was sure she had never seen this person before.

_He looks like Sasuke-kun, _Sakura thought vaguely, and suddenly she realized who he must be.

She unlocked the door and opened it with a big smile. "Are you Uchiha Itachi?" she asked excitedly, almost sparkling in her happiness.

Yes, it must be him; those delicate eyes and slight frown and serious expression. She recognized his face from the pictures Sasuke had shown her once of his immediate family. His mother had been absolutely stunning, his father very serious and handsome, and his older brother beautiful in a graceful way, with long hair. Sakura looked at the visitor's face and almost nodded to herself. Sakura's memory was one of her strong points; this was almost certainly Sasuke's older brother.

The man nodded to confirm her suspicions, and Sakura clapped her hands together. "Come in, come in!" she cried. "Have you come to see Sasuke-kun?"

He took a moment to respond. "That's right," he answered. "Is he sleeping?"

"Yes, but I'll go wake him up," she said, still talking a little too fast, as she shut the door. "Take a seat there on the couch. I'll make you tea, too."

She left the visitor to his own devices as she hurried into the bedroom to try to wake up her boyfriend. "Sasuke-kun!" she hissed, shaking him. "Wake up! There's a surprise for you in the living room!"

"Nn... what..."

"It's your older brother, Itachi!"

His eyes shot open and he pushed himself up to face her. "What did you say?" he inquired, his tone utterly suspicious, his dark eyes narrowed.

"Your brother is here to see you. Don't you think it's because he wants to make up with you?"

"As if a guy like that would come to apologize." He pressed his forehead into Sakura's shoulder.

He was trembling. "Have courage," Sakura said, and gripped his hand.

He pulled his head off her and looked at her, his gaze deep. "Fine. I'll be out in a second."

She shot him a wide grin. "I'll make us some tea. Get dressed."

She hurried back out into the living room and went into the adjoining kitchen. She could see the handsome visitor over the counter that separated the two rooms, and talked to him animatedly, about how happy she was he was here, as she gathered the kettle and the nice china cups. She wished she'd bought that electric kettle earlier today, but she'd have to boil water over the stove for now.

"He's just putting on some clothes, he'll be out in a moment," she said, as she put the kettle over the lit stove, "but I'll make you some tea while you're waiting. Do you want green or barley or lemon?"

"Green is fine," said the man.

"Sure!"

Sakura felt like her soul had become effervescent, all bubbly and sparkly. She didn't know many details about Sasuke's past; she never pressed for them. She knew that Sasuke's brother, his only living family, had abandoned him when Sasuke was only twelve... but he was back, now, and surely he'd come to see Sasuke and make amends.

Grinning, Sakura pulled off the cap of the little cardboard cylinder that held the premium green tea leaves. With a small, clean spoon, she dug out a spoonful to put into each of the three cups. She put the chinaware onto a tray and carried it all over back into the living room, and set the cups down on the slender, long table in front of the couch where their visitor sat, just as the door of the bedroom was swinging open to reveal a dressed Sasuke striding out into the living room.

"The water'll be heated in a second," she told the visitor, smiling, and waved her boyfriend over. Itachi's back faced the door of the bedroom. Sakura felt the anticipation building as Sasuke began walking around the couch and towards her.

Then—unexpectedly, suddenly—Uchiha Itachi rose to his feet. "I'm sorry, Haruno Sakura-san," he said softly. Uchiha Itachi reached one hand inside of his coat, and before she could blink, Sakura could feel something cool and dangerous pressing into her forehead.

Their visitor had a gun.


End file.
